1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to toilet seat covers, specifically to such covers which are disposable and which afford enhanced protection to users.
2. Background-- Description of Prior Art
It is known that there is a danger of catching diseases from using public toilets, and the public has recently become more aware of this danger. Thus public restrooms often supply paper toilet seat covers for users to place on the toilet seats to prevent their buttocks and legs from contacting such seats.
Heretofore, inventors designed several types of toilet seat covers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,262 to Watsky (1973) discloses a disposable toilet seat cover with a large number of radial slits which form a corresponding number of triangular tabs that hang down into the toilet bowl. These tabs cover the inner periphery of the toilet seat to prevent it from contacting the user's body. U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,640 to Nelson (1988) shows a disposable toilet seat cover with an effective microbiocidal shield, or barrier, between the user and the toilet seat. While they form an effective shield between the user and the seat, these covers have a serious disadvantage: they allow water from the toilet to splash upwardly when the user's stools drop into such water. Such a splash often contacts the user's buttocks, an annoying, uncomfortable, and sometimes disease-spreading occurrence. Even in household toilets, such a splash contaminates the toilet's surrounding area, causing soiling and concomitant unpleasant cleaning problems.
Another toilet seat cover with an elongated center flap is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,835,787 to Knisely (1931). Knisely's seat cover, due to its method of a folding, has a center flap which can be elongated to drop down to the toilet water so that the seat cover can be flushed away automatically. However, this flap neither suppresses splashing nor blocks the splash from the contacting the user in case one occurs.
One toilet seat cover which also prevents splashing is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,236,789 to White (1917). White's cover is a single piece of pliable material formed into a spirally cut strip and adapted to hang down below the seat. While this strip may suppress splashing, it is not possible to make it of biodegradable material which can be flushed away easily and at the same time to be strong enough to support the weight of the stools to prevent a splash. Another disadvantage is that the spirally cut strip is not strong enough to block or slow down the falling stools and to provide a large enough barrier to block the splash completely in case one occurs.
Another toilet seat cover designed to prevent splashing is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,673,622 to Engalitcheff (1928). Engalitcheff's cover consists of several side members which form the seat covering portion when they are glued together. They are also connected to front and rear arms with a bigger central portion at their ends. When this seat cover is used, the arms and the central portion will drop below the toilet seat to support the falling stools to avoid splashing. While this cover may suppress splashing, it has several serious disadvantages: this cover is not economically practical to manufacture because it requires gluing the side members together. Also, significant portions of paper must be wasted during manufacturing due to its shape. Another disadvantage is that the feces become malodorous since they are supported by the central portion and thus are exposed in the air. Moreover, the weight of the feces on the central portion has a tendency to pull the seat covering portion to misalign with the toilet seat.
Several other splash-suppressing devices have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,497 to Menter (1977) discloses a coated paper shaped to conform with the surface area of the toilet water. The user places the coated paper so that it floats on the water so as to eliminate splashing. However, it is difficult to provide paper which is biodegradable so that it won't clog the sewage disposal system, yet is stiff enough to block stools from falling fast enough to create a splash.
Some other covers could potentially eliminate the splash of toilet water, even though they were not designed for this purpose. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,840,826 to Ebbesen and Johnson (1956) discloses a flexible strip of disposable material which is suspended within the toilet bowl for the purpose of collecting stools for examinations. While these devices prevent splashing because the stools are collected by the strip, they also prevent the stools from reaching the toilet bowl so that they can be flushed away in a normal manner. Moreover, the feces become malodorous when they are exposed to the air. In addition, such cover don't prevent body contact with the toilet seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,921 to Nagel (1971) shows a combination seat cover and stool specimen collector. However, although this device prevents splashing, it also allows the air induced odors to form and does not allow the excrement to be flushed away. Therefore, such seat covers do not provide a practical solution to the splashing problem.